A Second Time
by MixedBreedMaiya
Summary: Set only a few months after the movie ends. Delbert and Jim have to go on another adventure to save Amelia...But what's the Doctor hiding?
1. Strangers

Hiyas and welcome to my Treasure Planet fiction! The one Tasha's been bugging me about...

Disclaimer: I don't own TP, or the characters, or anything really...

Amelia: ...Right.

Hey! Look who's here to help me with this. Hey, Mimi.

Amelia: He--What...did you just call me?

Umm...Nothing... Hehe...

**Special Thanks:**

**God, for my talent. I love to write so much, and I'm glad I do it well**

**Tasha - for pushing me to death to write this silly thing, and helping out with the plot. Love ya'**

**...Is TP a disney movie? I can't remember... Oh, well. Thank you, People-Who-Made-Treasure-Planet!**

**And all my readers - love you, too. Tanks for all your support.**

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"Your father is late again--Carla, stop pulling your brother's ear!" Standing, she crossed to the two siblings, and pried the little girl away from the dog-eared boy, ignoring the whimpers and protesting squeals. Shaking her head, she lifted a hand to brush stray auburn strands of hair from her face, her feline ears flattening back against her head in frustration. Where _was _he?

"Delbert Doppler!" she snapped as the door opened, turning swiftly on high heel to face the new arrival. Her ears straightened as her expression softened into that of surprise.

"No...Jim Hawkins." James Pleiades Hawkins had poked his head around the cracked-open door. "Nice to meet you."

"Mister Hawkins," she said, shifting the baby girl in her arms as Carla stared at Jim. "I apologize for my...assumption." Her heavily accented voice held a weary note in it. "Please...come in."

He chuckled, shaking his head as he obliged, closing the door behind him. Immediately, the only boy of the litter - Nathan - was at him feet. Jim bent down to pick up the kid. "Hey, gnat." He looked back up as Amelia was putting Carla down to play with her sisters, rather than harassing Nathan.

"Might I inquire as to your purpose for visiting?" asked the feline-like woman, resisting the urge to simply collapse into the nearest chair in exhaustion.

Jim blinked, looking up from the infant in his arms. "What? Oh - oh yeah! Delbert wanted me to tell you something."

"A reason for his failure to show himself, I hope." Her ears flattened back again as she narrowed her keen eyes, hands grasping her hips.

"Heh. Now I know why he doesn't do it himself - you really are very scary sometimes."

Amelia gave him a wry look, almost smirking. But she refrained. "What is it, Mister Hawkins?" she asked. If Delbert had sent Jim to tell her something, she wanted to know what it was, exactly.

"I don't really know." He shrugged, bouncing Nathan. "He just said to tell you he'd be a little late, that's all."

"I see." She stopped forcing herself to stay standing, and let out a resigned little sigh as she sat down in the chair behind her, thoroughly exhausted. "Thank you." A little late. What did he call what had happened every night for the past week?

"Uh...Are you alright?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes. Just a little tired, I'll admit. Nothing too serious, however." Immediately she was on her feet again, straightening her shirt with dignity. Even worn out, she was rather...springy.

Jim blinked. "...Right. Okay then." He shook his head, and lowered Nathan back to the floor. "Well, I think I'd better get back to the Benbow. Mom's having trouble with some kid. If she's going to keep the new and improved inn standing, she'll need some help." He scratched the back of his head.

Amelia quirked a tiny half-smile, and nodded. "I suppose a strapping young lad like you would be a great asset to your mother in those situations. You certainly seem to have a way with Nathan." She looked with just barely masked affection on her son, who was now crawling toward his sisters again.

"Gnat reminds me of someone. Other than Delbert," chuckled Jim. Nathan really did resemble his father greatly, just as Carla, Renae, and Lillian looked much like herself.

"Oh? Who is that?" asked the relatively-new mother, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"Me." He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Oh well. Don't hurt Delbert when he gets home."

Amelia shook her head. "No promises, my boy," she mused, watching him go. "Alright...bed," she added to the children, who stared up at her. Lifting first Nathan and Renae, she carried them upstairs and to their seperate cribs - it wasn't smart to bed them all down together - before taking the other two up to repeat this ritual.

Babies down for the night, Amelia made herself a cup of hot tea, sitting down again to read until Delbert returned. Several chapters later, she glanced up, having heard a creak. Normally, she would have bruhsed it off. But he wasn't home yet, and everyone but herself was in bed. Scanning the ceiling, she frowned. "Paranoid," she remarked to herself, looking back at the pages.

Then it sounded again. She blinked, and closed the book, setting it on the chair after standing. Something was amiss. She ascended to the second floor, checking on the children. A relieved sigh passed her lips as she saw that they were all sleeping soundly. They were alright. But then...what was the noise?

She shook her head, going back down the stairs. Though, what she saw when she reached the bottom startled and alarmed her somewhat. "Who are you? she asked, immediately taking up a defensive position.

Two brutish men were in _her _living room, looking as if they had a rather sinister purpose for such. One nodded to the other, and they both advanced. But she wasn't going anywhere without a fight...

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Dundundun! What will happen? -Gasp-

Amelia: ...I don't know. But it had better not--

I don't listen to muses. Just so you know. A fair warning, Mimi. I make their lives miserable, because I love them so. Stay tuned, readers!


	2. Nowhere to be found

Chapter two, la de da, has arrived, la de da--

Amelia: hile that is a most beautiful song, my dear...Perhaps you should move on. -.;-

...Fine. Geez. Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Oh well. 'Fore Mimi kills me, let's go.

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He had to be quiet. He didn't want to alert her, and thus spark her infamous temper. He knew she was unhappy with his continued tardiness, knew it all too well. Shaking his head, Doctor Delbert Doppler pushed open the door cautiously, lest she be sitting right there, in the armchair, scowling at him. But she wasn't.

What he did see, however, made him jump. The room...was a mess. Things overturned, a vase shattered into a thousand pieces lying on the floor. "...Amelia?" he asked, blinking. The lamp, which would have been the only light in the room had it been on itself, was also broken.

His first instinct was to check upstairs, on the children. Dashing up, he checked each crib, almost completely relieved when a study proved them all to be safe and sound. But that still left something wrong. Amelia was nowhere to be found.

Delbert checked the bedroom, the kitchen - every room in the house, but nothing turned up expect a smudge of blood that he would have bet anything was Amelia's. He stared at the disaster of a living-room in horror. Where was she? What had happened, who had been here?

"Sarah! Jim!" he yelped, bursting into the Benbow in something just short of panic.Yes, he was aware that most normal people were asleep at this hour. But Amelia was _gone._ Sleep didn't matter. "Sarah!" he repeated.

"Delbert!" she hissed, appearing out of the kitchen. "What on earth are you doing here? You can't just barge in and start yelling - people are asleep!"

"Sarah." Delbert moved forward to take her by the shoulders, just stopping himself from shaking her where she stood. "Amelia."

"What about 'er?" Jim had come down the stairs, yawning and scratching his head tiredly. "Did she hit you for being so late? I wouldn't put it past her, she was--" he yawned again, "mad."

"No, she didn't hit me," he said, somewhat irritably. "She wasn't there."

"Wow...I knew she was barking mad - no pun intended there - but I didn't think she'd _leave _you." Jim was smirking. He didn't understand the seriousness of this situation...

"Something's happened to her!" he said. "The house is a mess, she was gone. There was blood, Jim!"

"Woah. Delbert...Delbert, slow down. Tell us exactly what happened," commanded Sarah, in a such a tone as made the Astronomer stare at her, rendered speechless for a moment before he found his voice.

Well, obviously he wasn't going to tell them what had happened to make him late in the first place--Delbert blinked. Her had opened his mouth to say something, but now closed it. Of course...that was it. That was what had happened to Amelia.

"...Delbert?" prodded Sarah, promptly.

"Ah, yes. O-of course." He cleared his throat, not wanting to arouose suspicion. "Well, I came home late as I have been for the past week or so. When I arrived, the living room was absolutely demolished. Things were broken, overturned, out of place. It was a mess. So, naturally, I checked on the children. Thank goodness, they were fine. But upon further inspection of the house, I could find no trace of Amelia, save for this." He brought out a book he'd found sprawled on the floor, the red stain visible in the dull candle light of the Benbow.

"Is that...blood?" asked Jim, taking the book and inspecting it.

"Indeed it is, Jim. And I suspect it is hers."

"Delbert, ah...You mentioned the children. Would it be a strange thing to ask what you did with them?" asked Sarah, uneasily.

"Oh my goodness!" He'd completely forgotten about the sleeping infants..."The children!" he yipped, turning on heel to dash back out the door. With a sigh, Sarah and Jim ran after him.

They arrived back at his home, and he went straight on through to see the babies while the other two took in the horrific scene of the disastrous living room. Thankfully, all four infants were still safe. But how could he have been stupid enough to leave them alone like that.

Sighing, he sunk into the chair Amelia liked, head falling into his hands. This was his fault...Because of him, Amelia had been dragged into all of this. And she didn't even know what was going on. He hadn't told her the truth...He had all but lied to her. And that alone bothered him more than most other factors.

Sarah came over to pat him on the shoulder nervously, as Jim poked around, and Delbert continued to sit there, remorsefully wishing she knew. At least she'd have some idea of why whoever had done this, had _done it. _

"Well, I'll say one thing for her," commented Jim after a few minutes. "She put up one heck of a fight before they took off with her. I doubt she let them get away with it unscathed."

"I have no doubt," agreed the Doctor. "But they _did _manage to overpower her."

"Then we just have to find her, and beat the guys who did this to a pulp, right?" Jim pnched his left fist into his right palm. "That's all there is to it."

"...Of course." He only wished that Jim were correct - he wished that really _was _all was to it. But it seemed more complicated than that...

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Amelia: ... o.O

Sooo? You like?

Amelia: Ah...-Cough- -Ahem-

-.- Watch it, Mimi. I can and will make you misrable.

Amelia: I thought you were already going to do that.

...Probably. Whatever. You're mean to me like Raine. Kenshin likes me! Stay tuned. -Pouts-


	3. Miss Kitty

Chaaaapter 3!

Amelia: ...Congratulations. -Sarcasm-

Geez. What's got your yarnball in a knot?

Amelia: ...-Glare-

...Nevermind. o.o Let's go!

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She struggled against the grasp she was now in, making mangry, muffled protests through the rough cloth tied round her mouth. Her wrists, too, were bound with sturdy rope, but that didn't slow her in the least. After a moment of flailing and thrashing, her high heeled boot made contact with someone's jaw, and she heard a satisying thud as her victim was knocked off balance. Unfortunately, it wasn't the brute holding her - it was the one beside him. The one in whose grasp she was so tightly held now dropped, or rather threw her against the wall.

Amelia made another muffled sound of pain, something like a cough, and fell forward to her knees, grimacing. She turned her narrowed eyes upward at her two captors, attempting to use the wall behind her as leverage in order to get to her feet with both hands out of use. Once standing, however, the man, if he could be deemed as such, who had formerly carried her now pinned her against said wall. "Calm down, missy," he growled.

Missy? _Missy_? She gave him another evil glare, and brought her knee up to his stomach. He coughed, stumbling back, and she dodged out of the way of a backhand from the other.

"She's a pain in the--"

"It doesn't matter what she is. We got orders for 'er capture, and that's jus' what we're gonna do," interrupted the first, whom she had introduced to her knee. Amelia flattened her ears back again, defiantly. She didn't plan to make this easy for them.

She tried to wriggle her head out of the gag - she wanted to talk. What was going on? "Who are you?" she demanded, having succeeded in her attempt to free her mouth. "What do you want with me?"

"It's not really what we want with you, sweetheart."

Amelia tensed again at the new sweet-talk nickname. "Then why, my...good..man, am I here?" asked the former Captain, sarcasm lining her feminine, accented voice. Her back, she was sure, was bruised from the impact with the wall. It ached now, but she shoved aside the pain.

"Orders," said the second.

Well, that was rather vague. She pursed her lips in annoyance. "Who _gave _you those orders, and why?" She pronounced each word slowly and clearly, as though speaking to two extremely slow toddlers. This of course, angered them further, and the first took her somewhat delicate-compared-to-either-of-them chin in his large hand.

"You shouldn't back sass your superiors."

"Superiors," she echoed with a harsh laugh. "When I see one, I shall be sure to tell you, gentlemen."

"Why don't we just toss her to the stars and deal with Doppler himself?" sighed the second.

Her ears perked as she tilted her head slightly under the man's slackened grip. Delbert? This was about...Delbert? "What are you talking about?" Her eyes narrowed once more, and her sharp canine teeth - ironic name for them, actually - bared themselves when her jaw clenched.

"Looky there, Hunt," laughed the first. "Little Miss Kitty is angry with us." He grinned lopsidedly at her, and had she been any less dignified, surely Amelia would have bitten him without another thought.

"You use one more smart nickname and I am quite sure you'll regret it, gentlemen," she said, forcing the words through gritted teeth, though making her voice a deadly calm quite a few had learned to fear. She was growing more uneasy by the minute. They had mentioned elbert, but what did this have to do with him? Was she a hostage for something regarding a need for his cooperation? If that were the case...She would not be used like that.

"That so, Miss Kitty?"

"I warned you," she growled. Amelia moved to show them what she meant, but she was caught by the second, "Hunt," and he slammed her back against the wall again. "Maybe the Kitty doesn't understand," he said, his face close to hers.

"Maybe the Kitty would appreciate it if the rat got out of her face," said Amelia, now having a harder time using her strained voice to speak through the increased pain of the inevitably enlarged bruise.

"Why, you--"

"Stop. We were told to bring her to him. Alive." The first man pried her out of Hunt's grasp. "But look here, Miss Kitty," he added to Amelia. "Depending on the attitude you show him when we get there, and depending on whether or not that dog of a husband you have cooperates...You may want to start sayin' your prayers now."

"Really." She glared at him, lips pursed in a disgusted expression. "I have no intention of allowing the man you evidently speak of talk Delbert into anything at my expense. I will not. Be made. A pawn."

"You just keep holdin' on to that notion, Miss Kitty. If it makes you feel better." He lifted the gag over her mouth again with a sarcastic smile, and picked her up once more at they set off. Again, she started struggling, but her bruised back slowed her protests a bit, and she wasn't able to make contact with her foot again. Resignedly, she relaxed to simply be dead weight in the man's arms, staring at the star filled sky with anxiety etched on her face.

_What do they want with him?_

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AHAHA! You'd like to know, wouldn't ya'?

Amelia: Yes. What _are _you planning in that degraded adolescent mind?

I can't tell you that. o.O

Amelia: You don't have any idea of where you're taking this, do you?

Not true! I just don't wan'na tell you. End of story. Capiche? Good.


End file.
